Crossing Keeper's Cottage

[trammayo]

Hi. Now that summer is here (?) and I feel a lot better, I decided to add more scenic items to my trailer layout. I have already made a few trees and completed my water tower but I needed to enance the west of Ireland side (West meets West - this side of the country meets the U.S.A west - don't ask why it seemed a good idea at the time!). So I decided to make a crossing keeper's cottage. I have based it on an original (still in existence) on the long defunct Westport Achill line (1937 RIP).

The original is rectangular but, as my layout has its depth squeezed by nearly 50% in real terms, then my build is rectangular. It is also made to suit the plot of "land".

Its made from scrap (you could forget the S) plywood and glued and pinned.

The roof covering is cut from a moulded tile sheet (eBay - minaco-gb) and sparayed redoxide (Carplan) and then lightly dusted matt black to tone it down. The chimney is from a piece of hardwood - horizontal hacksaw cuts and vertical craft knife cuts to represent the bricks and mortar. The mortar will be painted in before the bricks are finished off. Ridge tiles are a piece of plastic angle scribed for mortar joints (yet to be painted in) and glued on with gutter repair sealant. The latter was also used to fill in the eves.

The rest of the structure, with appertures cut out, was blathered with a mix of PVA and wall filler and some texture indented with a finger trowel. Before it went off completely, some mortar/joint lines (cill and lintels) were scribed in. The walls have now been painted overall with a light coloured (oil based) undercoat which will represent the mortar once the random stone-work is painted in.

Gutters are made from a drinking straw cut length-ways.

 

[trammayo]

...and here's the remainder of the pictures while I wait for the walls to dry! The back of the cottage will only be seen by me!

 

[Doug]

Looks good. I use a sponge to apply the brick or stone colour after the mortar colour has been applied, it stops the paint getting into the grooves if you dab it on with a sponge.

 

[C&S]

Excellent stuff. I like the back view - looks like a building with the rendering peeling off.

 

[Steve]

That looks Brilliant

 

[trammayo]

Many thanks for your comments.
I have done some more work - very therapeutic - like painting in the stonework etc. The chimney is "flashed" using silver coloured gaffer tape to represent the lead and the doors and windows fitted (curtains hung too). The doors have dummy Sufolk latches - black gaffer tape for the door plate, bent welding wire for the handle, and a veneer pin with the end flatted for the thumb operated latch.

Now need to make the fall pipes, a water butt, and a "modesty" fence for the ourside (dry) closet. Once the cottage is finished I need to make the crossing gates and also add some other detailing on the opposite side of the road (pigsty with pigs grovelling around in quagmire).

Mick

 

[Bram]

That is a stonking job, well done you

 

[dragon]

Like it. Like it a lot.

 

[yb281]

Excellent, really like the way it's turned out.

 

[stockers]

Thats is nice.

 

[mike]

that Sir, is a credit to you..i take my hat off to you

 

[trammayo]

Thanks for all your comments. I had hoped to post the last (for now) of the pics yesterday but the weather has got rather dismal. Anyway, having a break from scything down the docks and nettles in the goats' field, I decided to take some pics. Quality is poor (as usual) but the three pics show the finished item complete with fall pipes, rainwater butt and fencing.

The pipes are made from 3.2mm welding rods with the silica knocked off and bent to shape. The collars are made from slices of plastic tube (saved from a spray bottle) and have pieces of wood glued on to represent the ears (fixing lugs in cast iron pipe terms).

The butt is made from a piece of old curtain pole (having a lathe comes in handy), the barrel staves represented by saw cuts and the hoops by insulation tape. The buckets and milk churn are turned from 20mm dowel and handles made from mig welding wire. The broom is made from some stalks of hay.

The fence is made from two pieces of scrap ply suitably scribed and butchered to represent an old, but tidy fence.

It will be some time before I have any other pics because the cottage needs setting up on the layout and I now need to make some gates for the crossing.

 

[Old Tom]

Excellent scratch building! This thread bookmarked for future reference.

 

[casey jones snr]

A mighty fine building. It captures that bucolic look of many rural structures.

 

[George]

ooo now i like that i do!

 

[trammayo]

Thanks again for all your comments. However, I stuffed up by not measuring the swept path of my locos on the bend where the cottage is going. Whilst the cottage and privy are out of the way of the loco's overhang (all Rad.1 curves), the fence is in the way.

Anyway, I've started building the crossing gates this afternoon - mainly from sawn up Vee groove cladding and some 6mm square stripwood with some 6 x 2mm for the braces. Bars are from 1.5mm brass. The two gates are seen in primer.

Tomorrow I'll make the "ironwork" from brass sheet.

 

[trammayo]

Its seven weeks since I posted to this thread - I had been waiting tio take a pic of the finished (or nearly finished) crossing but had to do it with the trailer opened up and the end boards in place. Although I have been to seven shows (or Fair Days), I didn't manage a pic until last Sunday down in the south of Galway. The pics are my usual poor quality - I don't ask forgivness - only pity!

The gate furniture was made from corrugated steel (cladding variety!), suitably flattened out and cut to size. Everything was drilled. then painted before fixing to the gates (from both sides) with cut down dome head pins.

They do work and are held shut by a gate clapper. The red discs are cut from plastic lids off of Baking Soda tins.

The finished gates

The original narrow street

The widened street - done in typical Mayo fashion - scrape off the top soil, put some blinding down and then tar & feather give a nice transition from one depression to another and then await the potholes to emerge.

A view of the street

Mick

 

[bobg]

It's looking better and better.

 

[Alec K]

Full of character and originality both in construction and appearance! The street views and the road surfacing approach reminded me forcibly of negotiating the N86 through Lispole, Co Kerry, a few years ago now.. potholes?

Great stuff.

Alec K

 

[trammayo]

Thanks for your comments. I decided to put more finishing touches to the crossing. Fencing had been installed (although not visible on the previous pics) and I decided that the cattle needed restricting from the railway. The triangular fillets of wood took some making and theire placing was tricky given that the crossing track forms a reverse curve directly from the track from the coaling tower. Anyway here's a few more pics......

Bird's eye view of crossing and cottage - a very tight spot due to the overhang on the curves!

The cattle "grids"

Looking towards the points (or where they will be when the trailer is opened up) where the station/yard track joins the back straight/

View of crossing showing fence and trees. The fence is made from the offcuts (the tongues and crooves) of matchboiard.

A view of the points from coal tower/yard

Mick